Objectives: Autoimmune targeting of hypothalamic-neurohypophyseal structures in children and young adults with posterior pituitary and anterior pituitary dysfunction, as well as pituitary stalk involvement, are not yet completely understood.
Design: We aimed to (1) evaluate the presence of circulating vasopressin-cell autoantibodies (AVPc-Abs) in young patients with central diabetes insipidus (CDI), (2) detect organ-specific autoantibodies as markers of autoimmunity, and (3) define the relationship between immune markers and neuroimaging findings.
Patients: Twenty patients were evaluated at a median age of 16.3 years. Twelve patients had idiopathic CDI, six had Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and two had germinoma. AVPc-Abs were evaluated in 40 healthy children. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the hypothalamic-pituitary region was performed longitudinally in all subjects.
Measurements: Circulating arginine vasopressin (AVP), protein tyrosine phosphatase (IA2), glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), 21-hydroxylase (21-OH), endomysium antibodies (EMA), parietal cell (PCA), thyroid peroxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (TG) and TSH-receptor (TSHr) autoantibodies were evaluated.
Results: Circulating AVPc-Abs were found in 15 patients (75%), nine with idiopathic CDI, four with LCH and two with germinoma; the pituitary stalk was involved in most of them. Five patients with idiopathic CDI showed a persistence of AVPc-Abs during follow-up and one became positive subsequently. Serum IA2 autoantibodies were demonstrated in 14 patients (70%) and 21-OH autoantibodies in three of them.
Conclusion: In idiopathic CDI, circulating AVPc-Abs suggest an autoimmune involvement of the neurohypophyseal system. The identification of AVPc-Abs in subjects who could have either idiopathic CDI or LCH or germinoma, however, indicates that AVPc-Abs cannot be considered a completely reliable marker of autoimmune CDI. Thus, close clinical and MRI follow-up are needed because AVPc-Abs may mask germinoma or LCH.